Oracle's Gambit
by Super Sister
Summary: "You know that there are other worlds, countless others beyond ours. You can look into the multiverse and see what could be," she says. She doesn't initially say it, but she also knows he can influence the destiny of his world, no matter how unwilling it is to change. A what-if AU.


"You know that there are other worlds, countless others beyond ours. You can look into the multiverse and see what could be. No one, not even you, know how, why or when you got this power, but it's yours, unique to you across the whole multiverse. Correct me if I'm wrong.

No? Fine, then I'll continue.

This all started over twenty years ago. You saw glimpses of a world that could be. You looked forward to it, it excited you. You were waiting for the Batman to arrive in this world too. But something unexpected happened. Thomas and Martha Wayne weren't killed in front of their eight-year-old son. They didn't die when they should have. Or rather, you realised this world was destined to have no Batman.

You fell into a depression for a bit. You wanted so badly to be Batman, but you knew you could not be the first Batman. You needed Bruce Wayne to don the mask first. You needed him to give you the foundations, so you could build up from there, because frankly, you don't have what it takes to be a real Batman and deep down, reluctant as you are to admit it, you know it to be true. Oh, how frustrated you must have been when you realised you were stranded in a world with no Batman.

But one night, many years later, at some bar, you told a fellow patron how it puzzled you that the Wayne family could wander across a crime-riddled city at night and never once be threatened, injured or harmed. You didn't realise it at the time you, but you were talking to Joe Chill. And you had pointed out to him what easy targets they were. You had unwittingly given him the idea to stalk the Wayne family, wait for them to be alone and rob them blind.

And so, when Bruce Wayne was fifteen years old, seven years after he should have already started training to be the Batman, the Thomas and Martha Wayne of this world died. Maybe not in front of their child, but it was still traumatic for the teenaged Bruce Wayne, who at the time had been far away at some expensive boarding school. He was angry at first. Then bitter. Then vengeful. And then finally, he decided that no one else should ever lose their parents the way he had. That he had to do what he could to prevent such things. Just like that, the Batman had been born into this world. Late, but hey, it's better late than never, right?

You only realised what you had done when you were reading the morning newspaper though. Perhaps you finally recognised the name Joe Chill, perhaps not. I doubt you do know, since most people are just tools to you. Not that it matters, the fact is, you told the right person what to do to create the Batman. Did it sicken you? The fact that you have the blood of Thomas and Martha Wayne on your hands? No. It didn't and it still doesn't. You have such a need to keep Batman alive in this world, you don't care about whose blood has to be spilt to do so.

You're not going to correct me? Well, why would you, if it's the honest-to-God truth.

So, Bruce Wayne was on his way to becoming the Batman and you went back to playing the waiting game. Five years later, the Batman emerged. Not as competent as the ones you've seen in other worlds, but as said, this Batman was late in development, he hadn't been able to train for as long. But what this Batman lacked in skill, he made up for in tenacity, determination and cold, calculating ruthlessness. Losing his parents as a teenager meant he could carry a lot more anger and Bruce Wayne was still so very angry. Did you think his lack of mercy and compassion needed fixing? No. This development was wonderful to you. Unlike versions of you in other worlds, you know that Batman is usually a true hero. But in this world? You know Batman is living nothing more than a power fantasy made real. A way for Bruce Wayne to avenge his parents without having to deal with any real consequences. And you love it. His motivation for being Batman is so close to yours. Once the time was right, you knew it would be so easy for you to take over his role. You wouldn't fail where your alternate versions had.

But again, something happened that you didn't expect. The Batman never became something more than a myth. Batman, as far as the world was concerned, was a superstition amongst criminals, never seen or heard. He cleaned up the streets, sure, but no one outside of criminals thought he actually existed, not even the police. And then, once Gotham's streets were clean, Batman disappeared altogether, only the myth remaining. Why? What caused this early retirement?

Simple. After Batman made his debut, what we call _super villains_ were supposed to be drawn to him, like moths to a flame. But that didn't happen. No greater villains were coming to threaten Gotham, no twisted minds to horrify the populace. When everything was cleaned up, it remained clean and there was no more fighting to be done. Batman could retire and he did. The theory that the villains created Batman and not vice versa, was proven true. You initially couldn't believe it, but that's the fact. Batman does not create his own villains. So, what did you do when you realised this truth?

You created his villains yourself. You located every single one of them. In this world, like in others, they all still had a bad start in life, abused, mutilated, traumatised… But unlike in other worlds, they overcame it. They remained part of society, they had respectable careers, they had close friends, they got married and started families… Despite what they had experienced, they had come out on top and even better, they had proven that they could not be easily broken.

It was like they were challenging you. You knew they would not easily be bent out of shape. You knew they would have to be placed under even worse stress than their past nightmares to be pushed over the edge. But they were challenging you and they were preventing Batman from living. So, you started work.

One at a time, you systematically started killing the most important person in their lives, be it their parents, their spouses, their partners, their friends, their siblings, their _children _and in one case, even their psychiatrist. After you murdered, you would go to your _victim _and start pushing them further into the dark while they were weak and vulnerable. You kept pushing until they broke. Until you could remold them into the nightmares of other worlds. You created all of them, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Bane, Mr Freeze, Penguin, Riddler, Harley Quinn, _the_ _Joker. _

You made them, to ensure Batman could never retire, could never cease to be. Soon, you found you enjoyed controlling the chaos in Gotham over being Batman. You had achieved a new level of power your alternate selves could never dream of reaching. You are single-handedly responsible for the Batman not dying. And the challenge? Keeping the villains from dying or worse, from _changing._

You couldn't prevent Batman slowly changing or growing as a person. You couldn't stop him from becoming compassionate, merciful, empathic. But you could stop the villains from changing. You could enforce their insanity. You could continue to isolate them, prey on their minds, keep them locked in a never-ending pattern. They're the challenge in the great scheme. With Batman, all you have to do is keep him in the dark. But the villains are such work.

Sure, some of them are quite easy to keep in the dark. The Joker embraced it. But others are always teetering and fraying, so close to doing what's right. Like Two-Face. Harley Quinn. Riddler. In this world, they're your real enemies. Your toys. You keep pushing them down and seeing if they'll stand up again. You enjoy watching them try to pull themselves out, so that you can push them right back down again. The Joker might be a dangerous lunatic, but you, Hugo Strange, are the only real villain in Gotham. And that is my deduction. So Professor, tell me how I did. I believe I've uncovered everything about you."

"Impressive, Oracle. You really did uncover everything, didn't you? You live up to your name, even if only able to explain past events. But I'm afraid, your stalling hasn't allowed anyone to come to your rescue. You are still going to die. I can't have you telling the Batman now, can I?"

"What makes you think I haven't already told someone what I know?"

"Don't bluff. I know you haven't told _him_ yet."

"What makes you think I was talking about him?"

"You know Ms Gordon, you were a wonderful Batgirl. It saddens me that I could not prevent you ending up in a wheelchair. I knew that if you ever became Oracle, I would have to kill you, so I tried very hard to prevent this. However, there are indeed a few things I cannot control despite my abilities. You were one of them. I could not control your actions, so in a way, your death was caused by your own hands."

"You keep telling yourself that, if that helps you sleep at night. Not that it matters if I live tomorrow or not. I've discovered everything about you, and I can guarantee that very soon, everyone else will know too."

"You've had your fun, but I am growing tired of your bluffing and stalling. Good night, Ms Gordon. You will be missed."


End file.
